European countries should clearly state their readiness to continue supporting Ukraine and its elected President Volodymyr Zelensky, even if this means openly disagreeing with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Stefan Meister, Head of the Center for Order and Governance in Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), said this in an interview with Ukrinform.
“Europe must stand up to Trump and make it clear that it will continue to support Ukraine and Zelensky as its elected President. This course must be pursued consistently,” the political scientist said.
According to him, European countries should not tailor their Ukraine policy to statements by the American President or his demands for changes in Ukraine’s leadership.
“Zelensky is the elected President of Ukraine. The Ukrainian people, not Donald Trump and certainly not Putin, decide who will govern Ukraine,” the expert stressed.
Assessing the actions of Germany’s federal government, Meister noted Berlin’s significant efforts to provide Ukraine with air defense systems, including Patriot systems and interceptor missiles.
He said Germany was also approaching Greece and Spain with a view to obtaining additional air defense systems for Ukraine. At the same time, the expert criticized the insufficient pace of expanding defense production and the lack of government guarantees to expand production capacity.
“What I do not understand, however, is why certain production capacities have still not been expanded sufficiently and why the necessary government guarantees are lacking. We have been talking about this for years. Patriot interceptor missiles are now also supposed to be produced in Germany,” Meister said.
In his view, Europe could develop these capabilities much faster, but insufficient political will is standing in the way.
In addition to military assistance, the expert called for stronger economic and political pressure on Russia.
“This also includes further sanctions, measures against Russia’s shadow fleet and a more decisive response to hybrid attacks – possibly also countermeasures in cyberspace or trade that would actually hurt Russia,” he said.
Meister stressed that European countries should pursue such measures more consistently, even if this leads to differences with the United States over policy toward Russia and Ukraine.
As reported, U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Ukraine’s decision to resume strikes on Russian oil refineries in an interview with Newsmax, saying that they allegedly contributed to keeping global energy prices high. He also said Ukraine should choose a different president to negotiate with Moscow.
Photo: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung / www.stephan-roehl.de, Flickr
Source: www.ukrinform.net
